any mountain bikers here?

[MonkeyNot]

Mixture of tar and dirt today
One more long ride next weekend as we prep for Race to the Sun

 

[JacquesM]

Dis 'n uitstekende gemiddeld vir so 'n lang afstand.

Welgedaan.

 

[tieniem]

Just chiming in: i have revisited my “membership” here after the Bikehub started going to the dogs. Way too PC over there.

PS, I am preparing for the Munga later this year, it will be my first attempt…

 

[MonkeyNot]

Dis 'n uitstekende gemiddeld vir so 'n lang afstand.

Welgedaan.

Dankie @JacquesM

 

[MonkeyNot]

Just chiming in: i have revisited my “membership” here after the Bikehub started going to the dogs. Way too PC over there.

PS, I am preparing for the Munga later this year, it will be my first attempt…

Wow that is a proper event!

 

[Tman21]

Thats a no for my ass!

 

[Wayne]

Just chiming in: i have revisited my “membership” here after the Bikehub started going to the dogs. Way too PC over there.

PS, I am preparing for the Munga later this year, it will be my first attempt…

Please share some of your pre trip planning and training rides with us.

 

[tieniem]

Please share some of your pre trip planning and training rides with us.

Ja look. At the moment it’s all about getting time in the saddle, averaging about 9hrs a week thus far for the year. 2/3 sessions a week of 1,5-2hrs in HR zone 2-3 for the base endurance (mostly on the road bike) and then 1/2 big rides over weekends. Road riding helps because generally there’s no free kilometers as with mountainbiking where you descend without pedalling. Other than that there’s not much to report at the moment. Over the winter months I’m aiming to test my light setup. I will be using a friend’s Garmin etrex 10 for the event, riding while following a bread crumb track is not that new to me so that’s the navigation part sorted I guess/hope. Same friend has done the Munga a couple of times of which he won it once so I have some experience to call on wrt packing essentials and so on.

Main thing for now is to keep riding. Did a 200km audax in March which went ok, but I do need to fuel better on these long rides which is something I have to still experiment with over the next few months. That and managing my HR is probably the 2 of the 3 most important factors. The third one is the mental approach, that is something I am quietly confident about.

I was lying awake last night thinking about making a Youtube channel where I could document my journey, but I’m not one for social media attention etc. Plus I’m a nobody so I’m not even sure it’s worth the trouble.

Edit: the idea of taking on this challenge comes from my dream of doing the Dakar, which is probably something I will never be able to afford. For me the Munga has a lot of similarities with the Dakar, same mental and physical challenges, just on a bicycle. My old friend Alexander Nel (who is no stranger on this platform) would have approved. May his soul rest in peace and guide me through my journey. This is also for him.

 

[MonkeyNot]

Gave it my all at Race to the Sun yesterday.
Got a cut on my front tyre at the 112km mark , managed to plug it successfully on the 3rd attempt and using 3 plugs. I was chasing too hard after the tyre issue to try and come in under 6 hours that I burned myself out by 140km.
Managed to nurse my tired and cramping legs over the line for a 6h19m official race time, will definitely be back next year to come in under 6 hours

 

[EssBee]

Well done @MonkeyNot !!!

It's been many years since I've spent TITS like that....a bygone era in my life.

 

[Avontier]

Gave it my all at Race to the Sun yesterday.
Got a cut on my front tyre at the 112km mark , managed to plug it successfully on the 3rd attempt and using 3 plugs. I was chasing too hard after the tyre issue to try and come in under 6 hours that I burned myself out by 140km.
Managed to nurse my tired and cramping legs over the line for a 6h19m official race time, will definitely be back next year to come in under 6 hours

Bliksem thats a serious ride. Well done!

 

[Wayne]

 

[Buff]

My recent upgrade after breaking the frame on my older Giant Anthem. I'm quite enjoying a ride, even though its a bit more XC orientated than Trail.

 

[Buff]

Also did a big ride recently, bike packing from Plett to Cape Town via the Cross Cape Route. I used my gravel bike and my mate his hardtail. It was an amazing trip, I can strongly recommend it

 

[KnopKop]

Odd request, but worth a shot.....

Does anyone have a MTB Travel Case that will fit a 29" Dual Suspension (Spcialized Epic Evo) that I could borrow for my upcoming trip to Zambia?
I will only ever fly once with a bike and it seems crazy to buy a new case just for one trip, so it makes sense to try and borrow one. I am based in Pretoria and I am willing to pay to "rent" the Travel Case. Dates will be from 24 May to 9 June.

Thanks!

 

[daemon]

Used to ride a lot back in the day in SA (moved to europe 9 years ago), all the normal Gauteng races, some of the ones I remember are, Magalies monster, the races that Fritz Pienaar organised(trail seeker I think?), Sani2C, etc. Was bit of a lycra cladded racing snake, keeping tabs on my HR, power weight etc. Boy was I in for a surprise in Europe, the mtb scene is totally different, there is not really this large marathon racing scene, yes there are a couple of events here and there, and yes there are people that ride XC, but for the majority, the people that ride for fun, do trail riding, enduro and bike parks. I see families riding bike parks in the summer, the same way they go ski in the winter. Was quite an adjustment for me

Swapped from riding clipless to platform pedals, not really caring about distance, but more about meters decent, and if I managed to clear a certain technical part etc. Still a bit of an adjustment to swap from the endurance side of things to the more technical side. I love enduro races, the climbs does not get timed, so, so you see guys just cruising at a walking pace up, and then when they are through the time gated at the top, absolutely bomb down at crazy speed over technical terrain. Or get a ski lift or shuttle to the top and just ride this amazing downhills all day long, if you are in a bike parks.

I have often thought about why you don't have this in SA...perhaps you have these days? It's been quite a while since I looked at the SA MTB scene, but from what I can see from my mates on strava, they still mostly do marathon rides. Why is there such a hard drive to compete against each other in sporting events, especially at a "fun" level. I remember guys pitching up at Cyclelab club rides with bikes pro's would like to own...I might have been guilty of this as well

Couple of photo's from some places I have ridden, highlight being Finale Liguire in Italy, it's a mtb mecca, and I cannot recommend it more highly for people to go ride there. I *vastly* prefer it over riding in the Alps, which is already excellent.

 

[Vilaishima]

My recent upgrade after breaking the frame on my older Giant Anthem. I'm quite enjoying a ride, even though its a bit more XC orientated than Trail.

I recognise that photo from BikeHub. Love that colour!

Here is my frankenstein Cannondale. Originally a 26" with 100mm travel fork. Now a 29/27.5 mullet with 140mm travel fork.